Sunday, May 30, 2010

Five Random Cubs Cards

I've got 7,150 Cubs cards from 31 different brands listed on a spreadsheet. A random number generator picked five cards, one each from the past several decades.

For the second time in a row, the random number generator picked a card that had already been selected. It picked a repeat card from the 1990, and I've got over 2,900 Cubs from the 1990s. If the odds of picking it once are 1:2,934, what are the odds of picking that same card a second time? I really need to buy some lottery tickets!

1950's / 1960's Bowman 1952 #32 Eddie Miksis I don't have the original Bowman cards; I've got the reprints...which explains why the card looks so good. Miksis came to the Cubs in June of 1951, part of an eight player swap. He spent the rest of the season as the Cubs starting second baseman. He slipped in 1952, playing in only 93 games and hitting .232.1970's Kelloggs 1970 #42 Ron Santo This card has a strange mix to it. Santo is shown in the home whites, something Topps did rarely during this era. Most of their cards featured the Cubs in their away greys. So +1 to Kelloggs for the pinstripes. However, Kelloggs is -1,000 because the stadium in the background is not Wrigley Field, it's Shea Stadium. In 1970, the last place I wanted to see on any card was the home of the Mets. And Kelloggs goes and puts it on a Cubs card. Boo!1980's Upper Deck 1989 #776 Joe Girardi We have a very young looking Girardi from Upper Deck's inaugural set. 1989 was Girardi's rookie season, and he ended up getting some significant playing time late in the season as the Cubs chased the NL East crown. Starter Damon Berryhill was injured and the Cubs relied on backups and rookies to fill in. Girardi did a decent job handling the staff and hit a respectable .248.1990's Bowman 1993 #664 Turk Wendell The Cubs acquired Wendell from the Braves at the tail end on the 1991 season. He spent all of 1992 in AAA and made it to the big leagues as a 26 year old rookie in 1993. I remember when he came to the team and all of the talk about his brushing his teeth between innings and jumping over the foul lines. But there wasn't much talk about his pitching. I wonder if his 1-2 record and 4.37 ERA had something to do with that?2000's Topps 2008 #114 Mike Fontenot Here's another card with Shea Stadium in the background. Fontenot had a good 2008 season as a utility infielder. He hit a career high .305 and added nine home runs. But it's still odd to see someone else in #17 instead of Mark Grace.

About Me

I am a life-long Cubs fan currently in exile in southern Michigan. I have been collecting baseball cards since the fateful Cubs year of 1969. I took a 15 year break from the hobby and returned in 2008.